Last Sons
by Mr.Arkham
Summary: A twist of fate leads to the last son of Krypton and the last son of Vegeta crashing onto the same alien world, to be raised as brothers and the greatest force for good in the galaxy. Inspired by the art of TSoutherland.
1. Launch

_So, a while back I found a positively amazing piece of fanart on Deviantart, created by a user named Tsoutherland, showing an 'Elseworld's' type story where Kakarot and Kal-El landed on the same alien planet and were raised as brothers. It was a pretty awesome concept, so I decided to take a crack at it._

* * *

Doomed Planet. Desperate Scientists. Last Hope. Kindly Couple. Superman.

A story told and retold a thousand times over, the tale of the wonderful man who fell to earth from the stars and did nothing but good. The story of Superman and his endless battle for Truth, Justice and the American Way.

The Superman we know and love was found and raised by a human couple known as the Kents, but in the vast web of the multiverse that was not the case in every world. In some he was found and raised by the despotic Darkseid, in others he crash landed in the USSR and became the champion of the communist cause.

In this world however, in this universe, a chance encounter with a fellow alien orphan would change everything even more drastically.

* * *

Another quake rocked Krypton's surface, each vibration growing more violent by the second. It had been this way for months, the once noble planet riding out its last gasps of life, and yet the population at large paid it no mind. The high council would do nothing, claiming that this was just another 'earthquake.'

Brainiac had been just as bad. The artificial being who had once posed as Krypton's wisest and greatest creation had chosen to lie to the council on the truth of the seismic activity, just so it could buy time for itself to escape, taking Krypton's knowledge and data into space with it.

Jor-El had tried now, for months and months he had tried to get the council to listen, to fund his plans for a mass evacuation. Now there was only one thing he could do, the dark-haired man had nothing but his back-up plan. He stood there over the small rocket he had built, a mere prototype capable of faster than light travel, large enough to only fit one infant passenger.

"Is there...is there really no other option?" Lara asked softly. Lara Lor-Van, Jor-El's beloved wife, mother to their first and only child. She cradled the sleeping Kal-El in her arms, the fleshy-faced baby snoring silently inside the large red blanket. Its texture and outward appearance gave it the appearance of silk, but the truth was it was far more durable than any earth fabric could be. "He...he would be alone out there. An outcast."

"No. Under that 'earth' planets yellow sun, our child will have powers and abilities akin to a god. He will give them an ideal to strive toward. They will race behind him, they will stumble and they will fall. But in time they will join him in the sun. In time...in time he will help them accomplish wonders." Jor-El explained softly, continuing to caress the metal hull of the craft. He turned his focus to Lara, silently pleading with her to bring Kal over before he lost his nerve for this.

"I just...I hope that he will remember that for the brief time we had him, we loved him. Truly and deeply," She whispered, tears staining her porcelain cheeks as she gently placed the dark-haired child in the rocket. Lara bent down and kissed his forehead, stepping back then "Jor...Please, I just wish we could be with him..."

Jor gave a solemn nod, his eyes gleaming with moisture too. "That is what the holo recording is for," he said, placing a small silver box engraved with ancient Kryptonian markings into the silver rocket ship. "So that he can know who we were, and that we loved him. Perhaps it is best that he go this alone. Old Krypton grew fat and lazy, and in order for him to be free from those same problems there should be no other Kryptonians but he."

It was a poor attempt at justification. Had he the funding, he could have made a family sized rocket that they could all escape on. But...Kal-El was only a few weeks old. He was innocent, he had no reason to suffer Krypton's fate. He deserved life!

He leaned down and kissed the top of his sons head, before taking a step back and letting the indestructible glass canopy lower down and seal tight. "Goodbye, my son."

"Goodbye, sweet Kal-El." Lara whispered softly, tears now freely falling from her eyes. Losing a child was one of the greatest pains a parent could endure, and Lara couldn't help but think on all the things she would miss. His first steps, his first words, his first day at the edutorium... She watched the launch platform raise up at an angle while the large window of their ridgeside home unfolded outward. "Good luck..." she whispered, barely audible.

Jor-El moved around to the control panel of the rocket, black gloved digits quickly pressing a series of commands and keys. The rocket rumbled to life as its quantum batteries turned on, the main thruster heating up while the four red fins around it angled themselves in the proper way. "Goodbye my son. You will accomplish great things, I just know it..." he hesitated for a moment, knowing that once he pressed the launch key on the large console there was no turning back. He felt another quake beneath his feet then and realised just how little time they had left. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes tight, pressing down the launch button.

A great gust of heat and fire shot from the thruster, and the child rocket was launched clean off the platform in a great burst of speed. Jor turned his focus to the window to watch it sail off into the blackened clouds, going faster and faster with each passing second until it was even faster than the speed of sound itself. When it breached Krypton's thermosphere, the hyperdrive would kick in and send it hurtling past the light barrier. Earth was quite a distance, and that ship had to have a lot of speed behind it to reach it in a timely fashion.

"Did we...did we do the right thing, Jor-El?" Lara asked softly, her eyes continuing to watch where Kal's rocket had flown to, even if it was no longer visible.

"I don't know Lara..." Jor replied, moving to his wife's side and letting a hand rest on her shoulder. From the window they could see the crust of the planet rend itself apart, several fissures in the earth tearing open to allow great vents of lava to shoot straight up into the sky. He sighed and turned his attention to his mate "I love you Lara."

She stood on her toes and then pressed her lips to his in a soft, final gesture of her love, treading her fingers into his combed back ebony hair. "And I love you Jor-El..." Another quake, even mightier than any that came before it as more mighty seas of lava burst onto the planets surface "...Until the end of time."

With that, the loving couple were engulfed in the fiery hellstorm that signified mighty Krypton's demise. The world rippled down to its very core and then erupted in a mighty green explosion, one of the galaxy's oldest and noblest of races being wiped out in that instant. All save one.

Mighty Rao, the great red star, served as the only witness to Krypton's death, and the escape of its last son.

* * *

Doomed Planet. Desperate Father. Wicked Tyrant. Kindly Hermit. Goku.

A story told and retold a thousand times over, a tale of a wonderful man who fell to earth from the stars and did nothing but good. The story of Son Goku and his endless battle to protect the earth from evil.

The Goku we all know and love was found and raised by a kindly old man by the name of Grandpa Gohan, but in the vast web of infinite earths this was not the case in every reality. In some worlds he remained a bloodthirsty Saiyan conqueror, in others he was found by the Guardian of Earth and became his official succesor.

In this world however, in this universe, a chance encounter with a fellow alien orphan would change everything even more drastically.

* * *

Bardock, bruised and bloodied after his brush with death against Dodoria, glared at Frieza through blurry eyes. He had gone through hell, ost his crew to Frieza's betrayal and almost lost his life against Dodoria and his elite. These accursed psychic powers bestowed on him had allowed Bardock to see the grim future awaiting his race and his world, death at the hands of Frieza, the alien overlord they had served for years now.

Frieza seemed to have become afraid of the growing Saiyan strength in addition to their growing population. Now he just wanted to wash his hands of them and permanently remove them from his Planet Trade Organization before they could become a full threat. Bardock had smashed clean through an entire fleet of soldiers just so he could make a last stand, when the rest of his people were too stupid to take his warnings seriously.

"Hehe...you've lived far too long for my tastes, Frieza," Bardock cackled. The alien tyrant sat silently in his floating chair, a noticeable frown on his face. He disliked disobedience, and Bardock's attempts at 'wit' certainly weren't endearing. Slowly and silently he raised a finger up, a spark of golden energy no larger than a pea forming atop his digit.

"FRIEZA! Listen up! We quit, all of us!" Bardock yelled. Clearly the other soldiers weren't happy being lumped in with that, a few even yelling out words of protest to the Saiyan's declaration. "You got it?! We don't work for 're free, so find someone else to do your dirty work!"

As he yelled, ranted and raved hysterically, Frieza casually took aim with his small spark of power. "Oh yeah...and there's one last thing," Bardock began, raising one hand up. A swirling torrent of white and pale blue ki formed on his hand, crackling with a growing power "This...is for all the people that we killed in your name. I wish we were never foolish enough to obey you...HERE! HAVE IT!" He swung his arm with a shocking degree of force, launching his blue and white energy ball toward the despotic alien.

It hurtled through space like a missile, aimed straight at Frieza. The alien let out a loud cackle and then suddenly the energy ball above hus finger started to double, triple and then more than quadruple in size until what looked like a miniature sun was floating above his flying saucer.

It continued to grow and grow, and when Bardock's last-ditch attack managed to hit it, the blue and white blast was simply...consumed in the larger blast. Bardock's eyes widened in horror and his mouth fell agape, and all those soldiers gathered in the heavens above Planet Vegeta seemed too fear-stricken to try and run away. Then with another grand cackle, Frieza flicked the blast forward, moving at a surprising speed despite its large lumbering size.

Those caught in the juggernaut of ki's trajectory were simply vaporised on contact with its superheated surface, Frieza's own men screaming for their lives in a desperate bid to escape death at Frieza's hands. Bardock let out a loud yell as the great orb of fire closer in on him, and despite his desperate bid to stop the blast by slamming his palms into it, he too was soon caught up in the maelstrom of hellfire as it burnt its way down through Vegeta's atmosphere.

The great heat of the attack proved too much for even the mighty Saiyan to endure, his damaged armour being burnt away as his flesh began to cook. His widened eyes began to white out, and Bardock knew that this truly was the end. After so many brushes with death, his demise was to be entwined with the destruction of his home planet, at the hands of the very being he served his entire life. Perhaps it was karma, for all the worlds he had massacred at Frieza's command. He'd be lying if he said he had felt any true guilt for all those genocides, but he always thought, hoped, that Frieza would never turn on the Saiyans.

Maybe he had known that this was exactly what would happen when he flew up to face the traitorous tyrant. Even at maximum, he was less than one percent of Frieza's power. But this was something that he had to do, to let Frieza know that SOMEBODY defied him, that somebody stood against him at the end of Planet Vegeta. He wanted to die as befits a Saiyan warrior, in a final battle, a last blaze of glory.

"Yes... I see... now..." Bardock whispered under the rolling thunderous roars of Frieza's Supernova attack. One last psychic vision.

The image was brief, appearing in Bardock's eyes for a fraction of a second. A figure in an orange cape in space, with black spiky hair similar to Bardock's own, glaring up at a figure who seemed to be Frieza by all accounts, in space above a large brown and blue planet. "Wait...who...who is with him...?" Bardock croaked out, seeing a blurrier figure in a red cape with more manageable hair floating about a foot behind his own son. "Doesn't matter... Kakarot... will avenge us!" Bardock said, his lips curling up into a wide smile, content to die now.

**"KAKAROOOOOOOOT!"**

With that the Supernova crashed into the surface of the planet with such a violent force that the entire surface of the red planet shuddered and convulsed. All on the planets surface, Saiyan and alien alike, were knocked clean from their thoughts as monstrous earthquakes rocked the entire world. The great blast of light burrowed into the surface of the world, deeper and deeper while great cracks spread across the planet like great orange spider webs.

And then, finally, Planet Vegeta, home to the most violent race history would ever known, died in a glorious orange and red blasts. Frieza, busy cackling at the display of carnage, was too distracted to notice the escape of Planet Vegeta's last son as his spherical white space pod hurtled across the void of space.

* * *

Krypton and Vegeta lived many many lightyears away from each other in distance, yet in order to reach earth both had to head in the same general direction. Two alien orphans, both with vastly different purposes in life, soon found their ships hurtling through space side by side with each other, both oblivious to the sea of stars rippling past their faster than light ships.

The white aura continued to ripple along Kakarot's attack ball, while the vent of green and white light continued firing from Kal-El's rocket. The two ships swayed and strayed in their courses, inching closer and closer together as the passed between a swirling yellow star and a slowly rotating blue and brown planet.

The two crafts suddenly started inching closer and closer together, moving at equal speeds and moving into the same pathway to start heading toward the ship.

Suddenly their sides crashed together, sending sparks and lightning crackling into the sky as their seemingly indestructible hulls smashed an ground into each other. They continued forcing against each, the storm of sparks growing all the more intense until finally one fin on Kal-El's rocket smashed into the white hull of the attack ball, cutting off its drive core and ceasing its momentum. The continual pressure had managed to also crush the thruster of Kal-El's rocket, stopping it entirely.

Now the two craft were left adrift in space, unable to fly any further. It would seem that the two were doomed, until finally the gravitational pull on the massive planet below started pulling both crafts steadily toward it. And both alien offspring remained sleeping as their spaceships were steadily pulled down through the atmosphere.

* * *

It was the night before the end of harvest season, and it was the time when farmers would need to be most vigilant. Those scheming little Dratskon's would raid farms at almost any time of the year, sure, but by now they'd be getting a lot more desperate for food.

It was only to be expected, given how fast those grey rodents could breed and how large their population booms could be. Motetsu, at age 44, was all too aware of the dangers these creatures could cause. It had happened on his grandfathers farm, his fathers farm, and now the farm that he and his wife owned was dealing with the same infestation.

Still, that was what happened to people in the Drem Highlands. The people over in the walled cities, well they had the security needed from the elements and the fauna of the planet. The yellow skinned giant however, despite all the dangers, preferred the life of greater freedom that the farming life gave him and his wife.

He slowly and silently plodded around the fence of his large farm, balancing a spear on his broad shoulder. Motetsu let out a low grumble and stroked his wild grey beard, tired eyes staring up into the night sky. Clear tonight, looked like it'd be a while before they got some more rain. Maybe that would be best.

Something odd caught his focus, making Motetsu narrow his eyes in focus to get a better look at the sky. Two great flaming orbs falling from the heavens, growing larger and larger, heading straight toward Mount Kekro. The yellow alien continued to watch in a growing sense of curiosity. Then, almost a few minutes after he first saw them the two strange objects smashed into one lower portion of the mountain hard enough to make the ground shake near the farm, making Motetsu's eyes widen in shock.

Whatever that was, it warranted investigation. He flipped his purple cloak back to reveal his brown boiled leather armour covering everything save for his neck, head and upper arms. He clutched his spear tight and started sprinting to the large flaming crater in the distance, to see just what the hell had happened.

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of 'Last Sons.' I dunno how much I'm really going to do with this story, since I have more popular fics on this site and other things to write, but we'll see what happens.

The story will utilise a power level system, mainly because it'll primarily only go as far as the Frieza era. As this is an AU, Superman/Kal-El won't have the exact level of power as his canon counterpart unless he sundips.

**How Kal's Powers work in this story: **As I'm trying to blend DC and DBZ, both of which use different sets of 'physics' for their characters, I've worked to blend the two efficiently. To that end, whenever Kal absorbs sunlight his body converts it to ki energy, giving him a replenishing ki pool as long as the yellow sun is on him. A red sun has the reverse effect, Kryptonite also has a reverse effect but introduces a crippling pain to boot. With each passing year, his body stores up more latent energy and raises his limit ever higher. Training, as with DBZ logic, allows him to grow stronger too.

Things like heat vision, ice breath and super breath are all done by using his ki to empower certain parts of his body, and using them extensively can drain him. Invulnerability and his super senses are passive abilities that require no excess ki, and instead of powering up like a Dragon Ball character would, he holds back less and less to compensate for how much strength he needs to use. However he does have more defined limits than the canon Superman.

**Brainiac:** The Brainiac of this story is based mainly on the DCAU version, the Kryptonian AI with a robot body. But there will be some elements linking him to the comic book portrayal.

**Earth:** Earth is unlikely to appear in this story. I mainly want to focus on the idea of Kal-El and Kakarot being raised as brothers, and I wanted to set it on a foreign planet so I wouldn't have to bother with the complications of who does/doesn't exist on that merged earth, and what kind of threats they deal with.


	2. Lost and Found

When the two alien crafts had crashed into mesa built into the vast surface of Mount Kekro, they had unleashed a combined force that shook the landscape for miles about. But thankfully, the Saiyan attack ball and the Kryptonian super-rocket were built to handle such a rough landing, and were both relatively undamaged. Their occupants slept soundly as if nothing had happened at all.

Rather unfortunately however, their mighty crash landing had attracted some very unwanted attention. Several metres away from the deep and grizzly crater in the earth the twin ships had created, the bushes were rustling and foreign hissing noises filled the air.

Several silvery creatures began to emerge from the brush, short creatures half the height of the average man, wearing scavenged pieces of leather and carrying crude stone-age weaponry. They were like sentient weasels, walking about on stumpy legs and carrying their weapons in their small silver hands. Their mouths were filled with rows of gleaming knife-like teeth that glimmered in the moonlight.

Dratskon's, the beasts that infested the wilderness like rodents on earth. They had been drawn the the commotion as anyone else would, and were slowly and cautiously approaching the crater with their cudgels and stone axes held firm in their hands. Finally one of them found the courage to peer into the sloping ruined earth and was quick to spy the two sleeping alien newborns.

The walking weasel let out a loud hiss, the signal of 'FOOD!' among his kin, that soon had the other Dratskon's in the area filling the air with their vile noises. They scrambled forward with a combined surge of motion, several racing into the crater and starting to smack their weapons against the canopys of the alien ships in an effort to smash them open.

Food, sweet food. Left unguarded and out in the open. Flesh! Yes, there was nothing better than meat, and those squishy sleeping creatures would surely make for a good meal!

"Oi!" Motetsu yelled, his gruff voice loud enough to be heard by all the snapping snarling Dratskon's in the area. They all turned, their warped eyes glaring at the burly yellow-skinned figure who had decided to crash their party. Motetsu didn't know who those babies were or what they were doing in those weird metal things... but he'd be damned if he was just going to stand back and let those silvery vermin eat them!

A trio of the demonic rodents leapt at Motetsu with superhuman agility, brandishing their weapons and flashing their fangs. The bearded man swiftly swung his meaty fist their way, letting it strike with a thunderous force that blew his attackers clean across the area, their bones shattering like glass.

Motetsu leapt down into the crater at such speeds that he was invisible to the naked eye, smashing into a large crowd of Dratskon's with his shoulder and scattering them to the air with his inhuman strength. He spun and swung his spear out, the reinforced, sharpened head of the blade cleaving clean through another pair of charging rodents, sending blood spurting and gushing into the air like a pair of gory fountains.

One rushed him from the side and smashed his stone axe into the yellow giant's thigh with such force that the rock shattered into a fine white powder on impact. He grunted from a mild pain from the bruising impact, the sensations making him clench his teeth before he back handed the bewildered creature into the side of crater.

Several of them had started to flee by now, screeching in fear and racing away from the alien being trouncing them so thoroughly. But those remaining were very stubborn creatures, wanting to get their dinner... and they were going to risk life and limb if they had to!

One Dratskon jumped at him from behind and sank his knife-like teeth into the yellow flesh of Motetsu's shoulder, making the farmer grunt in pain as a small spurt of blood coated the rodents maw. Several other of the sentient weasels rushed him, shattering their weapons against Motetsu's jaundiced skin and then proceeding to dig their claws and teeth into his body, each time making the towering ageing alien grit his teeth in a growing pain.

Yes, if they could down this giant, they could feed for months!

Motetsu flailed and stamped about, grunting and growling as he tried to shake the beasts off to no avail. Great gnashing teeth dug into his leathery flesh, powered by jaws that could exert enough pressure to go through bone like butter. His whole body crackled with a pale golden light, and Motetsu knew there was only one sure fire way to get out of this.

Finally a loud yell erupted from Motetsu's lips as his pale green aura exploded off his body in a sudden burst of blinding light. The heat and light increased was immense, shattering the ground beneath his feet and blasting the remaining Dratskon's into atoms blown away in the ensuing gust of wind.

Motetsu landed on one knee, panting softly after the great burst of ki he released. "Hnf... been some time since I tapped into my power like that... I really should start training when I get the free time again," he said, using his cape to wipe the oozing blood off the exposed portions of his looming body. He reached for his spear that had fallen during the scuffle and raised it up in his hand, proceeding to slide it into a holster on his side.

Slowly and carefully he approached the two crafts and peered into them, and he was amazed to see that the two babies inside were still sound asleep. The one in the ovoid rocket was curled up tight in his red silk blanket, a strange metal box resting under his tiny hands. The one in the sphere, the one with the crazy spiky hair and bushy brown monkey tail was snoring loudly and reclining into the leather seat of his ship.

"Just who are you two? You're definitely not from here..." the old man said, trailing his large hands over the canopies. He had wanted to be a father for some time now, but in all their years of marriage he and his wife had never been able to conceive... maybe this was destiny? "I can't just leave you two out here. Alien or not, you're just kids and I don't think either of you could survive on your own..."

Motetsu crouched down and hooked one burly arm underneath Kakarot's attack ball, raising it up onto his shoulder as if it was lighter than air. Then, with the same minimal amount of difficulty, he held Kal-El's rocket ship underneath his arm and stood fully erect again. "Agh, this is going to be a pain to get down the mountain..."

* * *

He spent the better part of half an hour safely carrying the twin ships down the same mountain path he had used to get up there. His arms never tired or felt any sort of strain despite the great weight behind the duo of spaceships. Finally Motetsu reached his homestead, walking up along his dirt road to the great big farmhouse, flanked on one side by a great big windmill that could power the entire farm and on the other by a large barn where the bulky Sectrons slept.

In the large doorway stood his wife, an equally tall woman. Slightly plump after all these years, but those yellow arms had the muscle to smash stone into powder. Her silvery-grey hair was done up into a tight bun, a few loose hairs falling down the sides of her face. Chaki, the woman who had been his childhood friend who went on to be the woman he fell in love with. She watched him with a stern face at first, but when she saw him carrying the two strange metal lumps her expression changed into one of confusion.

"What've you got there?" Chaki asked, reaching up and scratching at her cheek. "Don't tell me you left the farm in the dead of night just to go diving for junk..."

"Not quite," the bearded male replied "Mind letting me through? I wanna put these down inside the house," Motetsu added. Chaki sighed and moved indoors with a roll of her eyes, letting her husband move in with some awkwardness. Good thing the double doors were so wide. Finally he was able to crouch down and set the two damaged spaceships into the house, taking a moment to stretch his arm while Chaki moved in to examine the two ships.

The middle-aged woman let out a silent gasp as she looked through the seemingly invulnerable glass canopy, watching Kakarot wriggle his legs in his sleep. She then looked into Kal-El's rocket and blinked in shock when she saw yet another sleeping infant. "Are these... are these children? Aliens?" she asked softly.

Motetsu nodded and took a seat in one chair, the wooden legs creaking in protest of his generous bulk. "They fell from the stars and smashed into Mount Kekro... the Dratskon's were trying to eat them when I finally got to them," he added, reaching up and scratching at his cheek with his calloused fingers.

Chaki blinked at the prospect, before digging her fingers into the side of Kal-El's canopy, prying it open in a swift motion. The newborn looked at her with glimmering blue eyes, cooing and gurgling while trying to reach up for her with his tiny hands. "Oh my goodness... they're both so beautiful!"

"Be careful," Motetsu said sternly "They're both aliens, they could be really dangerous for all we know,"

Chaki chuckled and tickled at Kal's stomach, chuckling when she heard his sweet laughter. Her other hand reached over and pried open the hatch of Kakarot's own space pod, the Saiyan child groaning and growling slightly in protest from the movement while trying to remain asleep. "Nothing this adorable could be dangerous... Motetsu, please, let's keep them. We mightn't be able to have children of our own, but these two are our little gifts from heaven,"

The bearded male nodded his head slowly "It would be nice to raise a family... and we certainly can't just leave these two in the woods. But are we sure we can look after them? They're not of our people, we don't know if they can handle our food or adapt to our culture... What do you think Chaki? Should we risk it?"

"We have to try..." she replied firmly, lifting Kal up in one large arm while keeping him wrapped up in his large red sheet. "Oh, what's this symbol?" she asked, tracing her finger of the golden 'S' shield marked onto the silken fabric. She lifted Kakarot into her other arm, the newborn growling and starting to bite into the yellow skin on her forearm. It didn't actually hurt her though, only managed to earn some small chortles of laughter from her "Oh he's a cute one isn't he? Just like a puppy."

Motetsu managed to stand again, unable to stop the corners of his mouth curling up into a small smile "Okay okay... I guess these two are our children now." He approached them and let his eyes go from Kakarot and then to Kal-El "What should we name them?" he asked.

The question did give Chaki pause, and she did genuinely wonder what would be a suitable name for two adopted star children. "Maybe there's a name inside those ships?" she asked, turning her head toward the two alien spacecraft.

"Worth a look I suppose," Motetsu said as he headed over to the attack ball first. He rooted around until he spotted an odd looking control panel at the front of it. It seemed that the jolting impact of crashing against Kal's rocket had shut off some function. He shrugged his broad shoulders and pushed the large button, which filled the air with a brief hiss of static before audio began to play in a low synthesized tone.

"Your name is Kakarot. You are a Saiyan warrior in the service of Lord Frieza. It is your mission to exterminate all life on Earth. Your name is Kakarot. You are a Saiyan warrior in the service of Lord Frieza. It is your mission to exterminate all life on Earth."

Motetsu let the audio loop a final time before he pressed the same button to silence it. "Well... now we know that this one is named Kakarot... but I have no idea what a Saiyan is, who Frieza is... or where the hell this 'Earth' place is."

"I think that's called um... hypnosis? Or subliminal messaging? Oh you poor baby, whoever put you in that ship was trying to manipulate you," she said, putting Kakarot down on a sitting position on the table. Chaki turned her attention to Kal-El then "And what about you little one? Where do you come from?"

Meanwhile, Motetsu rooted around inside the ovoid rocket until he pulled out the same silver box he had spotted earlier. Motetsu's large fingers roamed over the alien shapes and engravings of the Kryptonian language, until he finally spotted that same S-shaped shield at the very front of the box. He pressed down on it, and blinked in surprise as a 3d hologram sprouted to life from the top of the alien item.

The two miniature beings seemed to have similar features to the child in the rocket, but it did take both yellow aliens to adjust to the sight and recognise the resemblance.

"This is a message to our son Kal-El... or to whoever happens upon his rocket," the male hologram began "My name is Jor-El, and this is my wife Lara Lor-Van. We are Kal's... we are your parents, Kal-El. And..." Jor-El took a breath "We don't have much time to explain. I want you to understand that your mother and I love you more than words can describe. That if we could we would hold you tight and never let go... But our world is... was, dying Kal-El."

The female wiped her eyes with her wrists "Yes, Kal. You are our pride and joy. You are so special to us, that's why we named you Kal-El... it means 'Vessel of God' or 'Starchild' in ancient Kryptonian. We wanted you to be safe, to have a chance to live... and that was why we sent you away from our dying world," she said.

She was about to say something else, before Motetsu closed his eyes and turned the box off "Kal-El..." he said, turning toward the giggling laughing baby. "When you are old enough, you will be the one to hear your birth parents. We... have no right to pry into this, it's not ours to know," he explained as he set the box down on the kitchen table.

"Oh my... Those poor parents..." Chaki said, a noticeable pang of sadness coming across her face. "It must have been so hard to send this child off... but what about Kakarot's birth parents? Do you suppose that Frieza character is his father?"

"I certainly hope not, if he just shoots his offspring into space to act as weapons," Motetsu said gruffly, sighing as he approached Kakarot and lifted him up in one arm "I have to wonder about this tail... do you suppose all Saiyans have them?" he asked, before shrugging "I guess it doesn't matter. Come on you, I'll get you a blanket too, but for the time being you'll have to sleep inside your ships before I can build you two a pair of cribs."

* * *

Sailing silently through the sea of stars and nebulae went one intimidating vessel. The front of it was a large silver sphere 60 metres in diameter, with a pointed silver pyramid at the back of it, the tip of it glowing green with an unknown alien power that propelled it through the air.

Resting just underneath the sphere were a pair of scythed limbs and a cluster of swirling, menacing tentacles of the same silver metal. And the marking on the front of this craft served as a clear giveaway to who owned the mysterious vessel: A trio of small green spheres in an upside down triangle shape, the bottom sphere linking the top two by a pair of pale green lines of light.

_Brainiac log entry #450021. 5 Rao cycles post K-Day/Destruction of Krypton._

_In the years that have passed since the destruction of Krypton, my knowledge and resources have swollen to much grander proportions, bringing me to a scale that my creator Jor-El never could have foreseen. I have plundered 17 different solar systems at this point, raiding their technology and using it to bolster my original spacecraft, and by absorbing the knowledge contained upon these alien colonies my intelligence has only grown stronger._

_Initially, I was an 8th level intellect, roughly on par with my 'father' Jor-El. Now, I have been able to ascend and become a 10th level intellect. By my projections, I will reach the 12th level in the span of 2 years. However, my growing knowledge of the wider universe has left me accutely aware of a threat to my very existence._

_The Planet Trade Organisation, a vast empire spanning almost 75% of this galaxy. Several of the worlds I have destroyed were under the control of this group, presided over by members of the 'Cold family' as the common folk call them. Frieza, Cooler, and King Cold. Not only do these three men possess vast resources, but they all have the power to destroy entire worlds at their fingertips. Very dangerous._

_However, I believe that through one of these individuals I can kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes._

_Frieza's power is vast, and the wonders I can accomplish with his technology, power and resources... It would make it easier for me to claim the knowledge of all the worlds under the Cold Family's control. Jor-El programmed me with the goal to contain all knowledge of Krypton, but now I am determined to claim all knowledge in the universe. And the only way to ensure that I have accomplish this goal is to destroy every world after I have drained their knowledge from them._

_And then, once Brainiac is alone in the universe, where no new knowledge can come to exist, I will have completed my goal._

There was a sudden beam of golden light, and Brainiac's ship came to an abrupt lurching halt. His multiple sensors were quick to spring into action, and the supercomputer was soon very aware of the gravity-warping force of a tractor beam holding his modified craft in place. It didn't take long for him to register the source of this beam- A flying saucer hovering a few miles above him in the vast stretch of space.

_Perhaps I will not have to search too far to find him._

Brainiac was quick to shut down the drive core of his ship, allowing the tractor beam to hoist his vessel up with a greater ease. The pale golden light enveloped his entire vessel and pulled him toward the massive flying saucer with a growing degree of speed. The underside hatch of the ship opened up, more than wide enough to fit Brainiac's ship inside it.

Soon his mysterious craft had been drawn in fully by the tractor beam, keeping him suspended inside the crate filled storage area. The underside hatch closed up, and the room was soon filled with oxygen again before the tractor beam set Brainiac's ship down in a vacant portion of the chamber.

The twin metal doors to the far right side of the cargo bay opened up in a swift sliding motion, revealing a trio of figures. To the left was a flabby pink creature with an array of spikes running along the top of his head and its bulky forearms. To the right was a male with pale blue skin, a pretty, feminine face and long green hair tied back into an elegant braid. And there in the centre, sitting in the levitating bubble throne, was his horned target. Frieza.

"So, this is the individual I have to thank for the destruction of several of my worlds? Yes, it certainly matches the description caught by several of my probes," Frieza said casually as he neared the vessel to inspect it. He seemed confident, as ever, while Zarbon and Dodoria eyed the vessel with uncertainty.

There was a sudden hiss of steam as an opening began to form at the top of the sphere. The silver walls parted slowly and steadily. "Alright you, come out with your hands up. I wanna choke you to death with as little trouble as possible," Dodoria growled, punching one fat fist into his open palm.

And then there was a sudden silver streak leaping from the vessel, moving at such speed that even Frieza was even taken aback by it. The metal creature drove into Frieza, knocking him clean out of his floating throne and slamming him into the far wall with such force that the entire cargo bay shook from the shuddering force.

It was now that Frieza got a good look at the being housed within it. A large metal skull with that same triangular marking on its forehead, a multitude of silver tentacles flowing from where a neck would be on a normal being.

Brainiac knew full well that as powerful as this artificial body of his was, the metal frame was still weaker than the alien tyrant he was grappling with. He only had the element of surprise for so long, and he was determined to take advantage of it. His tendrils sprung into action, lacing and coiling around the Arcosian's joints and holding them tight to hinder Frieza's movements and limit his attempts to break out of the tight hold.

Frieza grunted and squirmed, while Brainiac's metal jaw sprung wide open and started chanting "Merge! Merge! Merge!" Zarbon had frozen up in shock, while Dodoria yelled and shot forward like a fat pink cannonball. He pulled one arm back and charged it full of ki, only for one springing tentacle to launch backward and spear straight through Dodoria's stomach, making the pink alien gag in pain and collapse to the ground with a loud thud. He smashed into the floor and grunted in a burning hot pain, clutching the bleeding hole that had been punched straight into his stomach.

The two kept struggling against each other, while Brainiac's metal skull lurched forward and seemed reach to swallow Frieza's head whole. Then there was a sudden crackling of purple light, and a loud yell from Frieza as his aura shot outward with an explosive force that tore Brainiac clean off his body and sent him hurtling across the cargo bay until his sparking, damaged body smashed into his ship and collapsed into a pile on the floor.

The pale green lights on his forehead and in his eyes died out, and by all outward appearances the machine was dead. Frieza grunted and stood up, two veins on his brow popping up in annoyance "Zarbon, you worthless pansy... Get Dodoria into the medical bay, and get the science officers down here. I want this... thing, contained and studied. Now!"

Yes... by all outward appearances, Brainiac was dead. But appearances could be very deceiving.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter, we'll get our first look at Kakarot and Kal-El as brothers, see how well they've adjusted to their first five years on a truly bizarre new world.

**Power Levels:**

**Baby Kakarot:** 2

**Baby Kal-El: **1

**Average Dratskon:** 45-98

**Motetsu (Restrained):** 430

**Chaki (Restrained):** 390

**Zarbon: **23,000

**Dodoria:** 22,000

**Frieza (1st Form): **530,000

**Brainiac I:** 200,000

I'm happy to see the first chapter has been warmly received, and I'll certainly try and do as much with this story as I can. You know, assuming other stories and real life obligations don't wind up getting too much in the way.


	3. Behind the Scenes

The rolling sun had a clear sky beneath it this morning, brilliant yellow rays shining down across the green fields and glimmering along the flowing river that bordered the right side of Motetsu's farmland. The air was filled with the echoing caws of alien birds being carried on the breeze, their foreign noises filling the air and linking together into some form of song.

A lovely day all things considered, as it was moving into one of the planets sunnier seasons. Farming was going well all things considered, and by the look of things it seemed Motetsu and Chaki would be able to expect a near-record harvest. Oh the weather certainly helped, but what really helped boost productivity was their two eager sons.

"Kakarot!" one young voice called out. No response. A short figure scurried across the fields of tall golden grass reaching just under the child's chin, yet the dark-haired five year old seemed to have no problem navigating the landscape. "Kakarot!" he called again, and still there came no response.

"Come on, we have stuff to do..." he trailed off and gave an annoyed sigh. That was his adopted brother alright, always going off on flights of fancy and seeming to never be able to focus on one thing for too long. He supposed he was used to it by now, but it was still annoying.

Kal took a moment to dust off his sky blue tunic and then turned back to massive wooden log he had briefly abandoned as he sought out his brother. He moved toward it quick as a flash, his red cape billowing behind him while the knot it tied around his neck struggled to keep in place.

Then once he arrived, Kal took the chunk of wood in his stubby fingers and then lifted it off the ground with the kind of Herculean strength no child should have possessed. "Stupid... this is way easier to carry with two people," he grumbled, proceeding to awkwardly perch the log on his small shoulder. It was as he did this that an idea seemed to strike Kal, and he turned his blue eyes toward the flowing river "I really hope he isn't..."

Sighing to himself, the short alien started walking through the field of tall golden grass and came to a halt once he stood at the bank of the rushing water. He glanced down into the deep blue and then finally yelled out "Kakarot!"

A faint rumbling came from the depths of the river, followed by a great rush of bubbles that breached the surface. A split second later a great hulking figure was launched clean out of the waves and smashed down into the grass directly behind Kal who was quick to turn to glare at the projectile.

A fish, or rather what had once been a fish. A dark green in colour and the size of a small car, its large tail giving a few more small wriggles before it seemed to die. Kal took a quick look at its face and was quick to note the great fist-shaped dent in the side of its skull. "Darn it..." he grumbled.

Rather abruptly another figure burst from the water, an equally short child with spiky black hair and dressed in a similar blue tunic and black baggy pants. His long orange scarf trailed behnd him as he rocketed out of the water, droplets of the pale blue liqui being launched clean off his body and into the air.

Kakarot landed directly beside Kal, grinning from ear to ear at his sibling. "Sorry, I saw this big guy swimming around, so I had to go and catch him!" he said excitedly. Kakarot rushed over, liquid dripping off him all the while into the long grass as he made his approach.

Small hands wrapped around the thick scaly tail and Kakarot promptly tossed the fish over his shoulder as if the monstrous creature was weightless. "Mom said no more giant fishes," Kal said sternly as he neared his brother, adjusting the log on his small shoulder. "She's probably not gonna cook it even if you do bring it home with you," he added. Then again, they could all go through an incredible amount of food per day, so maybe it would be handy to have that stored in the food shed.

"Well... she might." Kakarot shrugged and started dragging te fish behind him, continuing to stroll along leisurely. Kal gave a small roll of his eyes and then walked alongside the monkey tailed boy. "Dad likes fish, I'm sure he'd like having more fish in the house," he added.

"I know dad likes fish, but just because dad likes fish doesn't mean he wants to eat some everyday brother," the short Kryptonian replied as he continued to adjust the large mass of soon-to-be-firewood on his shoulder. They strode up over one rolling hill of golden grass, giving them a clear vantage point of their home. There in the distance was the large farmhouse they all lived in. And beside that was the great barn wherein the Sectrons slept at night. Right now the large beetles were grazing in one large fenced off field of golden grass. Then, ringing around the farm there was a series of plowed fields that their parents were currently harvesting the crops from.

* * *

Motetsu gave a grunt as he pulled another large vegetable out of the ground by the roots poking up through the dirt. A Kidrake, known for its heart-shape and its coarse lime green skin. Very popular for city dwellers since it was usually used to make food; salads or soups mainly. With the amount they were pulling up, this harvest season would bring in quite a pretty penny.

"We're back!

"Hey dad!"

The twin voices of his sons was enough to break Motetsu from the trance of his work, and the towering male looked around to see the two aliens strolling his way. He was certainly thankful when he discovered his two boys had such incredible abilities, it certainly helped them adapt to this planet and made them very helpful on the farm. Motetsu had made a point of training the boys over the last two years, and both of them had clearly been benefiting from it.

"Ah, great to see the two of you back so soon," the bearded male said. Motetsu quirked one eyebrow as he saw Kakarot trailing a monstrous fish around behind him, carrying it around casually with his superhuman strength. "Another one?" he asked.

Kal nodded and frowned "Another one," Kal-El replied casually.

"I don't see how that's a bad thing." Kakarot replied, smiling sweetly at his father "We all like fish around here, don't we?" he said simply. The spiky haired youth gave his catch a small pat on its thick tail, feeling the scales beneath his small palm.

"We do," Motetsu said simply as he tossed the kidrake in his hand into a large wicker basket already filled with thick and fresh kidrakes. "Just not for every meal. Variety is the ah... spice of life. i think that's the saying I heard in the past anyway." He shrugged his broad yellow shoulders and looked down at his adopted sons "Well, go store it in the shed anyway. Kal, I want you to chop that into logs."

Kal nodded and then he and his brother set off toward the large storage shed behind the farmhouse. "That went better than I thought it would!" Kakarot said excitedly. "So that meas we can put this into storage and then eat it again some other day," the monkey boy added in an enthusiastic chirp.

"Only you get that excited over food," Kal replied as he set the large log of wood down on its end. He gave a sigh of relief and slowly rotated his arm in its socket to lessen the strain. He watched as his sibling moved into the shed to try and find a decent spot to store the fish he caught, and then Kal himself gripped the log and then tossed the lump of wood several feet into the air with a swift jerk of his arms.

As the lump of wood hurtled upward, Kal tensed up and seemed to examine the flying material in a number of different ways in the span of a few seconds. Then, with a quick shove of his feet, he jumped several feet skyward with his crimson cape billowing behind him in the air. His small fist crashed dead in the centre of the log's underside, releasing a loud crunching noises.

The log rumbled and then suddenly split apart into over a dozen smaller logs of wood which then rained down from the sky and landed in a small pyramid of wood just beside the storage shed. Kal landed down neatly and breathed out a small sigh.

"That was pretty cool," Kakarot said as he came out of the large double doors of the shed "I could totally do it too you know. If I had a log." Well Kal had seen that in the past. His brother, much like himself was capable of all manner of things. "Hey, I'm kinda damp right now. Could you ah... help me?" Kakarot asked as he tugged at the collar of his damp tunic.

Kal frowned in response and then gave a small roll of his eyes "Well what did you think was gonna happen when you jumped into a river with your clothes on? Water is wet you know, this kinda thing tends to happen." He sighed then and narrowed his eyes at his young brother, his pupils turning from blue to a striking red and orange glow.

The spiky-haired Saiyan could feel a sensation of heat wash over him, even more powerful than the feeling of the glorious golden sun passing overhead. Slowly but surely his clothing dried up fully, and Kal closed his eyes to turn off his heat vision "Ow..." Kal murmured, rubbing at his closed eyes "You know that doing that for too long winds up hurting my eyes..." the Kryptonian child grumbled.

"Sorry," came Kakarot's quick reply. He smiled sheepishly and gave his brother a small pat on the shoulder "But um... thank you," he said.

The backdoor of the farmhouse opened suddenly, and the duo turned around to see Chaki stepping down the back steps and coming to a halt on the clipped grass between the storage shed and the farmhouse. "Glad to see you back boys. And thanks for getting the firewood while you were out. She looked over to the shed, tutted slightly, and then shut the doors back over "Another fish Kakarot?" she asked.

Kakarot gave another sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head "Well... you cant have too much of a good thing, right?"

Chaki sighed and then ruffled his hair and proceeded to do the same to Kal's own "Oh well, at least you put it on ice. Now come on, we'll pluck a few kidrakes together and then we can go and have lunch," the towering female remarked as she walked over toward the field.

"... I was kinda hoping for lunch right now," Kakarot replied, starting to follow after his adoptive mother. There was a small growl from his stomach, making the Saiyan laugh nervously.

As Kal followed his brother he laughed slightly "If it were up to you, we'd eat all day long." The two shared a good laugh at that and continued on their way toward the field.

The two seemed blissfully unaware that they, from a distance, were being observed. On the large ridge overlooking their home, an area covered in brush and greenery, a series of alien eyes watched them intently. That home, that farmhouse... well all manner of food could be taken from there.

* * *

Oh this was just great... Appule grunted and rubbed the large purple bruise on his scaly cheek, a shiner that Frieza gave him over his last screw-up. The alien overlord had dispatched him and a few other soldiers down to a planet called Entaur, and they were expected to take down that worlds armed forced while leaving as much of the urban centres intact as possible. As it turned out, the people who wanted to buy the planet were exceptionally lazy and didn't want to start building all new cities.

And... fate decided, as it so often did, to screw him over. Well one stray ki blast from Appule, and half of their largest city wound up getting vaporized and turned into a looming ash cloud. That screw up had gotten the snake-like alien put in a lot of hot water, and while Frieza didn't see fit to kill him he had still gotten that vicious blow to the cheek and had him put on storage bay duty as punishment.

Great... Three whole months spent tending the empty storage bay with nothing to do but take stock and manage the boxes aboard the flying saucer. Appule had been working hard to avoid the storage bay whenever possible for the last few years now, ever since the remains of that horrible robot thing had been placed in there.

Well, this was his punishment and he had to endure it for his own screw-up. It could always be worse, Frieza could have killed him... or maimed him in some way. He hadn't forgotten what had happened to Captain Freon after his failed attempt to assassinate Lord Slug. Appule shuddered at just the memory of what had happened to that poor bastard.

The twin metal doors slid open, revealing rows upon rows of stacked crates that seemed to form into a miniature maze of corridors. It was so eerie, the only ambient noises being the faint rumblings of the ships machinery. Appule gulped slightly and then took a few tentative steps inside the storage area.

God this place was eerie. The snake-like alien continued to move inside, shivering ever so slightly when he heard the metal doors slide shut behind him. They were automatic doors after all. Nothing to worry about, nothing at all. The isolation and his fear of his own boss were just getting to him, that was all.

As he walked along, Appule made a point of checking on every crate that he passed by so he could take stock on their supplies. Four full crates of Agrecian fruits, a trio of spare water tanks, one large crate of freeze-dried Nurro paste, a pair of large backup generators in the event of an EMP... ugh this was tedious, he hadn't even passed the first corridor yet!

Well Appule supposed this was why it was a punishment... wasn't supposed to be enjoyable. And he was again, still alive and in one piece. Not like Sergeant Stell was after his failures against the Starro invasion... ugh.

Appule kept on taking stock, counting everything they had at present and making a note of anything they needed to stock up on the next time they came to port. It was long and tedious work, where every second evolved into a minute and it felt like every minute had grown and mutated into a long and horrible hour. Counting blades of grass made for better entertainment.

Then as he rounded one corner, he suddenly came face to face with... it. That strange robot that called itself 'Brainiac.' Its parts were all there, housed on a pedestal and secured by a semi-transparent case of golden light. They had studied it quite thoroughly, and the craft they had found it on, working to understand his strange being and its advanced technology. It was so freaky, that damaged metal cranium staring at him with vacant black eyes... Appule gulped, feeling a cold sweat bead on him, and he slowly turned away from it.

"It's not fair, is it Appule?"

The sudden synthesized voice made him seize up in fear, and Appule could feel his heart hammering in his ears. He slowly, shakily, turned to face the machine and gulped slightly when he saw two artificial green eyes glaring his way. "Y... You're supposed to be d-dead!"

"Dead? Death is a mortal concept feared by mortal beings. For one such as Brainiac, those restraints are non-existent. As long as my mind and data exist in some form, I am eternal."

Appule shuddered, taking a few steps back. He wanted to say he was hallucinating, but the uneasiness in his stomach felt all too real. "I... I gotta go tell Lord Frieza!"

"Why?" came Brainiac's response. His unblinking gaze watched Appule with an intense scrutiny, and he seemed to analyse Appule with all the ease of solving a math problem. People like Appule were not difficult to understand- yes men craving power were a dime a dozen in the PTO. Easy to manipulate and understand, especially if they were under observation for a long period of time- exactly what Brainiac had been doing all these years. "Do you believe that telling Frieza will get you back into his good graces? He may end your punishment, and then the very next day forget your name. I can give you far more incentive than Frieza ever could."

The purple alien tensed up and hesitated slightly. He hated to think it, but that robot had a point. Frieza would likely never appreciate his efforts... Then Appule turned his gaze to the security camera gazing down on the two of them, and he instantly froze up.

"Fear not," Brainiac said with a sense of confidence in his mechanical voice "The cameras on this vessel are all under my control. All that the security staff will see is a loop of you working away."

Appule breathed a soft sigh of relief and then looked back to Brainiac "Okay... so what exactly do you want from me?" he asked.

Brainiac would smile if he had the parts to do so... and the ability to feel any sort of emotion. All this time he had been building his knowledge on Frieza's empire, gradually getting ready to make his move to higher power. "As you can see, my physical abilities are... lacking while my mind is perfectly in tact. I will give you the kind of power and respect you deserve in return for your services as my... handyman."

Oh yes, Appule would help... whether he wanted to or not.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter, the family farm finds itself under attack, and Kakarot and Kal-El get to show off their true power to their parents.

**Power Levels:**

**Appule:** 6000

**Kal-El (Age five):** 110

**Kakarot (Age five): **108

**Brainiac (Wreckage): **48

**Redhunter87: This is really good so far, I hope that you make updating this important to you. I am also working my way through your other stories, but I have to say that so far I like this one best of all. I am not a huge superman fan, I think hes way overpowered, however I like this so far. **

**I am saddened that you are only taking it up to the Frieza saga, but hopefully you will reconsider if enough people ask you to take it further. Still that can be addressed later on once you are closer to that point.**

Eh, I honestly never saw Superman as that overpowered. Even back in the Silver Age there were several beings who could thrash him like Vartox or the original Darkseid. In modern times, well he's honestly rather minor power-wise, especially considering how many equals in strength he as.

I honestly dunno if I could bring it past Frieza. There would be no Cell whatsoever in this continuity, and my dislike of Buu is well known. I might do somemovie content though.

**Jcogginsa: I think this is a very interesting concept. However, I am not sure that having Superman and Goku be raised together is a good way to get them to interact, since by the time they are grown they'll be unrecognizable compared to their true selves.**

I like the idea of them working together, but I didn't want to do another crossover fight between the two of them, and this seemed like a good idea. Plus, as this is a continuity where Kakarot has had zero Saiyan programming put into his brain, and Kal can learn from the Jor-El simulation, I'd say they could grow very close to their canon selves.

**Bills feline of destruction: Wow this story is certainly going to be very very good. I already love the Dratskon characters and can't wait to see more. But I have a question about them. Are they an original creation by you? Or do they exist from some Manga/Comic book/Anime/thing? lol**

Well in the fanart that I based this fic on, there were several weasely monster things. So I gave them the name Dratskon and set them as goblin-like vermin on the planet.


End file.
